Ep. 151 - Bahamas

Music Makers and Soul Shakers with Steve Dawson

Afie Jurvanen, better known as Bahamas, joins me on the show today. Afie has made 6 records as Bahamas, and the newest one, “Bootcut”, just came out a few weeks ago. It’s a great record with inventive melodies, killer guitar playing and singing, and I guess will be sort of pinned as his “country” record, although I don’t think it’s that. But he did make it in Nashville, and used a bunch of seasoned session players for the recordings, including Vince Gill, Dave Roe and Russ Pahl on steel (who’s been on this show), so it has some country flavor. But Afie’s vision is to incorporate elements of country music into what he does without changing his own approach or sound that much, and it works really well. Afie has always made interesting choices when making records - almost as if he’s challenging himself and working out of his comfort zone. We talk a bit about his “Earthtones” album, which features Pino Paladino on bass and James Gadson on drums, and how touring as a duo for years influenced his guitar selection. We get into Nacho Guitars, fuzz tones and how Feist helped him developed a quieter, more intimate way of singing. Afie also spent some time as a side-guy and did a bunch of sessions around his old hometown of Toronto through the early 2000’s before landing a touring gig with Feist. But after that he set out on his own and that’s where the Bahamas adventure begins with “Pink Strat” in 2009 and continues through to the new album. You can keep up to date with his touring at bahamasmusic.net

Please enjoy my conversation with Bahamas!

Be sure to listen to the Accompanying Songs Playlist which contains some of the artist’s work, plus many of the songs we discuss on the show:

Playlist on Spotify / Playlist on Apple Music

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The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

Your fearless host, Steve Dawson can be found at www.stevedawson.ca

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